How to Change A Shower Arm and Flange In 5 Minutes

(Heads Up: Thread Seal Tape should be wrapped counter-clockwise on both sides. Video shows tape being applied clockwise from the one side.)

Are you looking to upgrade your old, worn out shower arm and flange? Whether it's just really beat up looking, or you want a different style/length, a shower arm replacement is key to any shower upgrade.

And if you never changed a shower arm pipe before, you may have your hesitations. Unlike a shower head installation, the shower arm pipe is threaded into the wall which can look intimidating. But it's actually super easy!

In this video, I'm going to show you how to replace your shower arm and flange in less than 5 minutes!

I'll be using the highest quality shower arm and flange on the market. And I've used a lot! Trust me, this one is expensive but it's worth the money. Why have a really nice shower head and not have a nice shower arm to mount it on to?

The shower arm is made from very hefty brass and the flange is really thick gauge brass which is super rare. What I especially love about this shower arm set is that the flange has a set screw to tighten it down onto the shower arm so it doesn't move around. If you've ever had the flange sliding around on your shower arm, you'll find this very important.

Now, here are the steps to installing your shower arm and flange.

1. Remove your existing shower head
2. Use a utility knife to separate any silicone or plumbers putty from the flange so it's not stuck to the wall.
3. Insert a screwdriver into the hole of the shower arm for leverage
4. Unthread the shower arm counter-clockwise using the screwdriver
5. Take the new shower arm and slide the flange over it
6. Wrap both ends of the shower arm threads with Teflon tape, getting a heaping amount on there. Close to 10 turns
7. Guide the shower arm into the hole in the wall to find the threads
8. Reinsert the screwdriver into the hole of the shower arm
9. Thread the shower arm into the wall by rotating the screw driver in a clockwise motion
10. When it starts to get tight, go around one last turn and square the shower arm up in your shower
11. Slide the flange so it's flush against the wall
12. Tighten the set screw down
13. Seal the edges with silicone
14. Finished!

Let's take a look at this video and put it all together.

***Some links may be affiliate links. We may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these.

[tsukiapple]

My mother was actually about to pay a guy $1, 000 for this job. When I found out I immediately looked up how to do it. Thank you for saving me and my mom $1000. God bless

[paulrandall]

The Teflon Tape was put on in the wrong direction. Pointing the end of the pipe towards you, it should go on clockwise. This is the direction that the pipe threads travel when tightening. Putting the tape on in the counterclockwise direction as shown in this video will cause the tape to bunch up as it is tightened
making it useless at providing a seal. I always install these with a temporary cap at the other end and turn on the water to pressure test and check for leaks. If there are no leaks then I replace the cap with the shower head and silicon seal the flange.

[faithtownsend]

I love simple direct instructions. Thank you!

[peternicoleluckyf]

Nailed it. 1st Time I ever Attempted -- less than 5 minutes from start to finish [including watching the video!]

[DalTexGuy]

Thanks Justin for all of the good tips, especially about wrapping the tape on the pipe ends in a clockwise direction. I pretty much knew that I would be using a screwdriver placed inside the pipe to unscrew the old arm and installing the new one. However, there’s one thing you left out that’s important for some DIY’er’s like myself to know. When installing the new shower arm, the longer end goes into the wall with the shorter angled end pointing out and down towards the bathtub or shower floor. 🛀🚿

[mpmitton]

Thank you for this! I had no idea what to do and how the arm was connected (or if it even was connected to anything). Successfully changed an old arm with destroyed threads.

[tonymason]

Thank you for the video - I wouldn't have thought to use the screwdriver for leverage. I suck at home repair, but youtube helps!

[mostirreverent]

Thank You, love the screw driver tip. saves from taping the pipe for wrench maring...

[keithz]

Thanks for the simple and fast how-to instructions

[ApRiL]

Thanks for this tutorial. The only thing I don’t like is seeing a hole at the bottom if the flange. I wish we had a piece to cover it. Otherwise, very great quality

[oldyellerschannel]

Great tips! Thanks!
I have a new shower arm to install, and I was worried because it has threads on both ends, and I thought I might need some kind of connector...
happy to see yours looks the same, and I am good to go.
What I did with the flange, is I put beads of clear silicon, inside the back of the flange, in ever larger circles, until it reached the very edge of the inside of the flange,
and made sure, the last circle, rested slightly above the edge of the flange, so when installing this, pushing on the flange, with just a little pressure,
compresses the silicon slightly, because silicon is flexible, and that makes for a perfect watertight seal, and you can't even see the silicon on the inside.
I wouldn't use plumber's putty on marble, (Plumber's putty is greasy.) as marble is a soft, porous stone, and the marble will absorb the oil from the plumber's putty,
and the marble will stain around the flange.
It is probably fine to use it on granite.

[elvisgreen]

Thanks! Just what I was looking for mainly to see how to remove the pipe. Screw driver trick was key. I probably would have put the set screw on top out of sight (unless you are Shaq.)

[garryb]

Thank you! Great informative video...did everything u said and I successfully installed my shower arm and Rainfall Shower head without a plumber. Yay!!

[jamescahn]

Thank you!!!! I was terrified I'd have to take tiles and wall down. Haha. What a relief!!!

[JaclynBennett]

Thanks so much! You saved my marriage.

[georgemikodesigns]

Me, my mother-in-law & her guest bathroom thank you!!! Cheers!

[Mister_Y]

These type of repairs/updates always scares me. I don’t like not knowing if my pipe is leaking being it’s behind a wall. I know folks will chime in and say if you put teflon on correctly and tightened it correctly, yadda, yadda...Things can still go wrong beyond your control, like age of pipes, condition of threads, etc.

[aniko]

Thank you so much I'm 62 and I have to do it myself Thank you again.

[mrs.b.s.]

Thank you! I sit on hold with (a certain well known store that sells hardware and appliances) chat for 30 mins last night while they tried to figure out what a shower arm and flange was for me. They came back with an answer that didn't have anything to do with the question instead of just saying, "Idk".

[Pshady]

I always lived an a apartment. I recently just bought a house. I need to learns some of these do it Yourselves and I'm kinda nervous. Two questions. 1) if i take everything off, is that what's usually behind the flange a hole in the wall I assume in that hole a is a pipe you just stick the arm to?

2) are shower arms universal? Thanks again. Might be dumb questions but I just want to learn everything. I'm new to this